Rolling ball and track toy



Dec. 5, 1950 R. l.. sTAlR ROLLING BALL AND TRACK TOY Filed Nov. 13, 1946 Patented Dec. 5, 1950 3 Claims.

My invention relates generally to toys, more particularly to a toy comprising a track and a `ball adapted to roll thereover, as a result of momentum gained by said ball as it travels down an inclined por tion of the track and the principal objects of my invention are, to provide a toy having a track formed of flexible material in order that it may be laid in various positions on the oor or ground, to form the track in sections, with means for readily connecting and disconnecting same, to provide an adjustable vertical support for one end of the track and furthenrto provide simple means for slightly elevating the track at any desired point throughout its length 'and particularly on curved portions thereof.

With the foregoing and other objects in view my invention` consists in certain novel features or" construction and arrangement of parts which 'will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved toy with parts thereof in section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the upper portion of the standard that supports one end of the track.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on 3-.3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line fl--4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line S-i of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line 'l-'l of Fig. 1.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention, Il! designates a disc like base provided in its top with a shallow recess il and rising from the center of said base a tube l2. Arranged for telescopic movement in the upper portion of tube I2 is a smaller tube lli, carthe line rying an adjustable friction collar it of rubber that is adapted to rest on top of tube Ii. and thus hold tube i3 in diiferently adjusted vertical positions.

Arranged for sliding movement in the upper portion of tube i3 is a rod i5 carrying an adjustable friction collar I6 of rubber adapted to rest on top of tube I3.

The upper portion of rod l5 is bent downward to form an angularly disposed finger l5a which enters and supports the elevated end of the track (see Fig. 2).

ATNT FFICE The .parts I2, I3, Iland I5 provide 'a vertically adjustable post or standard for the inclined end portion of the track.

The track or single rail which is formedin sections of any desired length, is composed of rubber' or rubber composition, that is extruded so as to form a base l1 having a lat under face i8. and a pair of upwardly projecting diverging flanges Iii that provide a groove 2&3, transversed by the rolling member 2 I, preferably a ball such as is used in conventional ball bearings.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the side faces of rail base Il incline inwardly from under face i2! toward the lower portions of flanges I9 and thus the lower portion of said rail base is substantially fish-tail shape in cross section.

Formed in base l'l is a continuous bore 22, thus enabling the ends of the'track sections to be detachably connected by means of Ainserted pins or wire rods such as 23.

The upper portion of the bore in the track section A that is held in inclined position by the adjustable standard, receives the linger Ic at the upper end of rod l5 (see Fig. 2), and the intermediate portion of said bore is occupied by a fairly stiff wire ila, (see Fig. 1) which holds section A rigid and straight.

The track may include a circular loop section B held in shape by a wire 24 inserted in the bore in said section, one end of which wire is eX- tended beyond the end of said section, for insertion in the lower end of the bore in inclined section A.

The track also includes one or more sections such as C and D of various lengths, the ends of which are detachably connected by means of inserted pins or wire rods such as 23. The ytrack or rail being flexible, may be laid in any shape or course on the oor or ground, over small blocks or the like in simulation of overpasses (see Figs. 1 and 5), and the end of the track opposite the inclined end, may terminate above base It, so that the balls discharge into recess I l from which they may be readily transferred to the upper end of inclined track section A.

In Fig. 5, I have shown a semicircular block 25 of rubber or the like provided in its upper face with a plurality of dovetail notches 26 adapted to receve the fish-tail shaped base portion of the track rail, such block being used for the support 'of the rail Where same is laid on a short curve.

On a straight track, the rail is seated in the central or uppermost notch 25 and on curves, the rail is seated in either one of the lower or lateral notches, thus positioning the flanges I9 and.

groove 20 of the curved portion of said rail, so that the rolling balls will not leave the track as a result of centrifugal force.

In playing with the toy the balls are placed on the upper end of track section A and after rolling down same said balls traverse the loop B and then roll at reduced speed along the track sections C and D.

In addition to providing an interesting and entertaining toy and plaything my improved toy has definite educational functions and value, inas much as it can be used for teaching the fundamentals of road building, speed and acceleration of the rolling balls on straight and curved portions of the track, also the influence of centrifugal forces on the balls as they traverse the tracks curves.

Minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved rolling ball and track toy may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a roling ball and track toy, a base provided in its top with a shallow recess, a tubular standard projecting upwardly from said base, a tubular member mounted for vertical adjustment in said tubular standard, a stop adjustably mounted on said tubular member, a rod mounted for vertical adjustment in the upper portion of said tubular member, a stop adjustably mounted on said rod, an inclined arm projecting from the upper end of said rod, a track rail having one end supported by said inclined arm, and ycomprising a plurality of sections of flexible material, each provided in its top with a longitudinally disposed groove and in its body with a continuous bore, pins removably seated in the ends of the bores in adjacent rail sections for connecting same and inflexible rods inserted in the bores of certain of said rail sections to render same rigid.

2. The rolling ball and track toy as set forth in claim 1, with a track supporting block provided With an arched upper face in which are formed spaced undercut transverse notches for reception of the lower portions of the track rail sections and a rail section seated in one of said transverse notches.

3. In a rolling ball and track toy, the combination with a track rail provided in its top with a continuous groove, one end of which track rail is inclined, of a support for the inclined end of said track rail, which support comprises a base providedV in its upper surface with a recess for reception of the balls used in play with the toy, a tubular standard projecting upwardly from said base, a tubular member telescoping into said standard, a stop adjustably mounted on said tubular member above said standard, a rod telescoping into the upper portion of said tubular member, a stop adjustably mounted on said rod and an inclined arm projecting from the upper end of said rod and removably seated in the upper end of the ilclined portion of said track rail.

RAY L. STAIR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 487,773 Reynolds Dec. 13, 1892 1,195,927 McCloy Aug. 22, 1916 1,493,649 Schulz May 13, 1924 2,000,808 Williams May 7, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 441,982 Germany Mar. 18, 1927V 240,652 Great Britain Oct. 8, 1925 

